Metalworking Videos On The Web

Sad to have to tell you this, but there really aren’t many metalworking-related videos available (or accessible, at least) on the Web these days. Sure, to those that have any such videos available online—folks like us here at MMS, our competitors, industry associations, the machine tool builders and suppliers, and businesses like yours—whatever we have available seems impressive to ourselves.

Sad to have to tell you this, but there really aren’t many metalworking-related videos available (or accessible, at least) on the Web these days. Sure, to those that have any such videos available online—folks like us here at MMS, our competitors, industry associations, the machine tool builders and suppliers, and businesses like yours—whatever we have available seems impressive to ourselves. That’s because our perspective is tainted; we know what work went into the development of these items.

But to our audiences, the numbers are still anemic, because those audiences are looking for specific answers. Rarely does anyone looking for a solution say to themselves, “You know, I think I’m gonna go out and fetch me some videos.” No, most purchase-minded prospects are looking for solutions targeted to their own specific needs when they need them. You may have 20 classy videos on your Web site that impress the boss, but from the prospect’s point of view, you’re done if you don’t have what “I’m” looking for right now.

Video—when done well—is an effective media format for manufacturers. In a technical environment, pictures/video can tell a lot more than a thousand words.

But affordable online video delivery is still relatively young. No matter what you hear, we’re all still trying to figure it out—at least how to produce and deliver video effectively and efficiently. Regardless of where the Web and our understanding of it is, manufacturers and those that serve them have a looooooong way to go before video supply meets demand.

There are some options for you, however. Visit the MMS Blog at www.mmsonline.com/otw for some links to video collections online, if you’re looking.

If your business wants to experiment with posting videos, why not try Google Videos (http://video.google.com) or YouTube (www.youtube.com)? While these sites are more for the general populace, they offer manufacturers an inexpensive alternative for delivering videos. And these alternatives make the video fairly accessible. Should you choose this route, you can simply link to your video(s) from whatever page on your site you choose.

We are getting better at this medium. If you’re looking for video, hang on, and if you’re thinking of delivering it, it may be time to get crackin’.

Another Metalworking Survey Of Note
This newly activated survey, titled The Metalworking Operational Trends Survey, aims to identify the trends you as a metalworking professional see as important, and what lies ahead for your business. Aside from contributing to the overall metalworking good, when you submit a completed survey you’ll be entered to win $500 from Amazon. To link to the survey, visit the MMS On The Web Blog at www.mmsonline.com/otw.